A June 2009 Norwegian Commission on Capital Flight from Developing Countries report on illicit financial flows from developing countries and tax havens and put forward recommendations for reform efforts to be considered by the Norwegian Government.

WASHINGTON – President Obama will lay out a comprehensive regulatory reform plan this afternoon to modernize and protect the integrity of our financial system. While this crisis has had many causes, it is clear now that the government could have done more to prevent these problems from growing out of control and threatening our overall economy.

I want to thank Minister Tremonti for bringing us here to this beautiful city of Lecce. We meet at a time of transition in the global economy. The force of the economic storm is receding. There are encouraging signs of stabilization across many economies.

This report by the House of Commons recognizes the devastating impact that tax havens have on developing countries, stating: “developing countries suffer disproportionately from the existence of tax havens which prevent them receiving much-needed tax revenue which they should derive from economic activity within their borders. The ending of tax havens is necessary, not only for reasons of justice but also to promote good governance and robust management of public finances in poor countries.”

I’ll begin by thanking the chairman for his leadership in scheduling today’s hearing on the U.S.¬Panama Trade Promotion Agreement. I also thank our witnesses for being here, and in particular, I want to extend a special welcome to Mr. Sam Carney, a pork producer from Adair, Iowa, and the president-elect of the National Pork Producers Council.

We are here today to discuss our trade agreement with Panama, a country at the crossroads of the world. Panama links the Americas — North and South — with a land bridge that ties together two continents. Panama also links the world — East and West — with a canal that has changed the course of global trade.

Full text of the letter from Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) asking President Obama to address the issue of tax evasion before finalizing the Panama Free Trade Agreement.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the following statement from Secretary Timothy F. Geithner following the semi-annual plenary meeting of the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG).

The G-20 countries together must take aggressive action on two fronts – first, to ensure economic recovery and restart global growth, and second to reform supervisory and regulatory framework to prevent economic crises from occurring in the future. The United States will work with its G-20 counterparts in forging this global two-part response.